5 July 2010

WKCDA Board Reviews WKCD Conceptual Plans

The Board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (“the Authority”) today received presentations from the three Conceptual Plan Consultants—Foster + Partners, Office for Metropolitan Architecture and Rocco Design Architects Ltd.—on their respective concepts for the planning of the WKCD. The three Conceptual Plans are now near finalisation and the Authority is on schedule to display them to the public during the Stage 2 Public Engagement (PE) exercise scheduled for mid-August 2010.

The Chairman of the Board, Mr Henry Tang, said, “We are very impressed with the three Conceptual Plans. The Consultants have demonstrated innovation and inspiration, as well as keen interpretations of what the people of Hong Kong and the stakeholder groups expressed during the Stage 1 PE exercise about their visions and expectations of a world-class arts and cultural district. We will be very interested to hear the public views about the plans when they are unveiled this August.”

The Conceptual Plans are currently undergoing preliminary assessments on technical feasibility and compliance with statutory requirements. The Conceptual Plan Consultants are also finalising the detailed models, animation and explanatory videos prior to the launch of Stage 2 PE exercise.

Today the Board also discussed the arrangements for the Stage 2 PE exercise, which were discussed by the Consultation Panel of the Authority on 28 June. The Stage 2 PE exercise is intended to:

• Solicit public views on the three Conceptual Plan Options, which will serve as a useful reference for the Authority in selecting the preferred option;
• Solicit public preference on individual features of each Conceptual Plan Option, which may be incorporated into the selected Conceptual Plan Option if considered appropriate by the Authority; and
• Gauge public views on how the three Conceptual Plan Options have incorporated the comments received during the Stage 1 PE.

The focus of the Stage 2 PE exercise is on the master planning and land use of the WKCD as a whole, rather than the design of individual buildings within the district. The exercise will last for three months, up to November 2010. It will feature a roving exhibition across the territory, guided tours and forums. Information and questionnaires will be distributed throughout the engagement, and interested parties may provide their feedback by attending forums and via various online channels, including the Authority’s website and a facebook group.

The three Conceptual Plan Consultants were appointed by the Board of the Authority in July 2009 through an open tender process to each develop a Conceptual Plan Option for the WKCD.